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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (29 June) . . Page.. 2263 ..

MR SPEAKER: We have a long evening ahead of us, gentlemen.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, when Mr Moore had a shot at me in question time he was quite smug in his attack, but when he can equal these achievements he will be able to be a little more smug. When Labor was in government and I was the minister we had taken over from Mr Humphries who had doubled the waiting list and had set the hospital system for the closure of one hospital.

One of the major achievements, as I mentioned earlier, was when I revolutionised the contracts for visiting medical officers. That caused the waiting list to go up. There is no doubt about that. It was a bitter struggle and it was not very pleasant, but it had to happen. The establishment of smoke-free areas legislation? Who did that? Yours truly. The establishment of the clinical medical school? Who did that? Yours truly. The establishment of the Mental Health Advisory Council, and then the re-establishment after that was dismantled by Mr Humphries? Yours truly. The implementation of then sorely needed mental health treatment and care legislation? The then Labor Attorney-General and I. The establishment of the hospice on Acton? Yours truly. That was wasted by this government without proper compensation from the federal government and three or four million dollars went down the gurgler.

There was provision for a clinic for pregnancy terminations in the ACT. That will not keep everybody happy in this place, but it keeps me happy, and a lot of my constituents. The abortion law reform in the ACT. That does not keep a lot of people happy, but it keeps my constituents happy and me happy.

Mr Corbell: And the majority of women in the ACT.

MR BERRY: Yes, and a majority of people as well. There was the establishment of the Health Complaints Commission. I will not bore you with any more, but when you can rack up a list like that you can come in here and criticise me.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (4.00), in reply: It seems to me, Mr Speaker, that Mr Berry suggests that the reason why I have some problems is because I am feeling some pressure from a particular doctor who named himself, finally, under pressure, of course. He tried to be reported anonymously in the Canberra Times until such time as he realised that the Canberra Times knew who he was and that he would be named, which is when he identified himself.

That contrasts greatly with Mr Berry who, on 25 November in 1993, was busily naming visiting medical officers. He was talking about the visiting medical officers dispute. He was using the word "parasitic", and a whole series of other words questioning their ethics and so on.

Mr Berry: Yes, yes.

MR MOORE: He says, "Yes, yes." He does not even recognise the hypocrisy of what he is doing because he is quite proud of what he has done. I came into this place and tabled a report done by Dr Jeans' colleagues. Then I drew the conclusion from that. In my opinion Dr Jeans' colleagues demonstrated very clearly-I reiterate this, and I will reiterate it again and again-that the allegations made by Dr Jeans were patently false.

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